TG4 ladies football advert gives birth to debate about sexism
Either way, a rejected TG4 ad for its sponsorship of ladies Gaelic football has emerged online and yesterday sparked debate on how women’s sport is portrayed in the media.
The advert shows a dimly lit side profile of a woman in Cork colours cradling a football in the style of a pregnancy bump.
The image is complemented with the line: “The most important nine months of a woman’s life.”
The picture stirred debate on social media, with many praising the arresting image for bringing attention to ladies football.
Others, however, were critical of the ad, suggesting it was sexist to primarily focus on the players as childbearers rather than athletes.
Complaints suggested that the ad reduces women to “baby-making machines” instead of football players and that it places gender at the centre of its message, instead of sport.
Two thirds of respondents who voted on a poll on Irishexaminer.ie yesterday said that they liked the advert.
However, it has since emerged that the ad was commissioned as far back as 2009, and was originally rejected for use.
“The ad in question was made in 2009 & was rejected. It was accidentally released on social media. It is not a current ad,” the Ladies Gaelic Football Association tweeted yesterday.
A spokesperson for Ladies Football said it had not received any formal complaints arising from the ad, but that the organisation had noted ‘activity’ on social media around it.
“It seems to have divided opinion online, so we wanted to clarify that it is not a new campaign from Ladies Football,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for TG4 said the channel has supported ladies football for more than 14 years, and that it has run dozens of campaigns promoting the sport across a range of media.
He said that the channel had yet to receive any complaints over the image.
It is not the first time an advertising campaign for TG4 has found itself at the centre of sexism allegations.
A poster for dating show Paisean Faisean was withdrawn following complaints over the image, which showed a female teacher at a blackboard dressed in stockings and suspenders with the tagline: “Girls dressed by boys.”
